Mississippi club selects Nathan Crace for a master plan

Located in the northeast region of the Magnolia State, the City of Starkville is not only the home of Mississippi State University, but it has also been recently named the “Best Place to Live in Mississippi” by Mississippi Magazine. While this honor is no surprise to either Starkville residents or students and alumni of the university, the city’s economic growth over the past decade has also created a welcome increase in the membership base at Starkville Country Club. As a result, the club has hired Nathan Crace, ASGCA, of Watermark Golf/Nathan Crace Design to develop a long-range master plan for improvements to the club’s 18-hole golf course.

“I’ve been working with the club off and on for a few years now,” Crace said. “And earlier this year we began a small renovation on the fifth hole to address some drainage issues, replace a dilapidated bridge with a new lake and levee and relocate the tee complex for safety. While working on that project, the committee made the decision to go ahead and start planning for the future.” That planning includes hiring Crace to develop a long-range master plan for improvements to the golf course over the next 10 years.

According to Greater Starkville Development Partnership interim CEO, Jennifer Prather, the country club is not alone in realizing the financial upside of recent growth in the area. “Over the last five to 10 years, Starkville has seen unparalleled momentum that has driven economic growth vitality within our city,” Prather said. “Projects like the renovation of Starkville Country Club provide quality recreational and leisure assets that contribute to the quality of life that residents are seeking in their search for the most desirable place to live and work.”

In part due to the growth of the area and the club—and at the urging of members—the club recently completed a substantial investment in a new larger swimming pool with cabanas and other improvements to the clubhouse. When a golf course renovation committee was empaneled to look into the growth of the club, they knew they needed to reach out to a professional golf course architect.

“We’ve been talking with Nathan for years about steps to take to make improvements to the course,” said golf renovation committee co-chairman Sterling Dahl. “It’s nice to be able to work with a golf course architect who not only has a long list of successful projects, but also graduated from MSU and still has connections to the community.” The renovation committee is co-chaired by Dahl and fellow Starkville CC member Ross Graham.

Crace said the plan will study improvements to all areas of the course including greens, tees, bunkers, water hazards, trees, irrigation, cart paths, possible re-alignment of some holes, native areas, and sustainability. The next step after the current project on the 5th hole may be the re-design of the par-3 13th hole—including a completely new green complex. Regardless of the next step, Crace will be working closely with the committee to determine which segments of the master plan will be phased-in and the timing of those projects.

“Nathan has always told us that a master plan is a ‘road map to the future’ of the club,” Dahl said. “That’s what a club needs. Committees and Boards change out and new people are in charge every year. With Nathan’s master plan, we’ll be able to plot our course and budget for it accordingly. It will also help us communicate to current and prospective members the direction the club is headed in the future.”

The only member of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) based in Mississippi or Alabama, Crace says he has multiple reasons for wanting to be involved with the project at Starkville CC. “First and foremost, it’s a great club with great people. Secondly, not only did my wife and I both graduate from [Mississippi] State, but our daughter is a student here now and we have two sons who will be here in the coming years. Plus we come back for ballgames every year and we plan to retire to Starkville at some point in the future.” Crace laughs, “I guess I’ll be involved with the club for the next thirty years or so.”

Crace, Dahl, and Graham agree that due diligence plays a vital role in developing the master plan and the club does not want to rush it—giving Crace the necessary time to deliver the finished plan to the Committee. According to Dahl, “We’ve asked Nathan to get the finished master plan to us by the end of the year.”

“Something I learned from my Dad when I was young—and it applies to this business too—is that it’s better and less expensive to do something right the first time than it is to do it twice,” Crace explains. “I’ve had the good fortune of working with clients for 25 years who believe in that same philosophy and I think it shows in the finished product. Starkville Country Club is no different and we’re looking forward to getting started on planning for the future for the members and their families.”

Venerable South Florida course undergoing $2.5 million renovation

The Biltmore Hotel, a national historic landmark established in 1926 and luxury hotel in Coral Gables, Fla., announced its plans to restore its 18-hole, 71-par golf course to the original grandeur of the 1925 Donald Ross-designed Biltmore Golf Course. The $2.5 million-dollar project will commence July 5 when the golf course grounds close. The course is expected to reopen in December 2018. “The ultimate goal of restoring the golf course is to make the intended-Donald Ross design an authentic experience for today’s sophisticated golfer, while still allowing for the average player to enjoy this spectacular course,” says Bob Coman, director of golf at the Biltmore Hotel.

Veteran golf course architect Brian Silva will oversee this restoration project, which will add new Bermudagrass on the existing tees, fairways and greens, incorporate new bunkers, enhance both the short-game practice as well as range areas, establish challenging signature holes, and extend the overall course length to over 7,100 yards making it worthy of championship level play.

“The original 1925 Donald Ross course routing plan demonstrates a greater number of bunkers than now exists on the course,” Silva said. “The additional new bunkers will provide more ‘movement’ to fairways that have more twists and turns as it works its way from the tee to the green into the hole. This movement has great impact on both aesthetics as well as the strategic playing interest of the golf course. Reacting to this movement, the more accomplished players can take the risky route to shorten the distance from tee to green; which is the ultimate litmus test for a good golf course. And, such a course will maintain the playing interest of the accomplished player while still being entirely manageable for the leisurely player.”

The Andersons add trio to Plant Nutrient Group

The Andersons has announced the addition of Anthony Goldsby, Tyler Warner and Alan Hollen to its Plant Nutrient Group.

Goldsby will serve as an agronomist while Warner and Hollen join the company as territory managers for the Professional Turf Business

Goldsby will provide product and technical support to the business and serve as a resource for distributors and customers in the golf, sports turf and lawn care industries. Goldsby comes to The Andersons from Ewing Irrigation Products, where he most recently held the position of national turf products manager. Prior to Ewing, he served as a research technician for Kansas State University’s 13-acre turfgrass research facility in Manhattan, Kan. Goldsby received his Ph.D., master of science and bachelor of science from Kansas State. He resides in Kansas City, Mo., with his daughter and son.

“We are excited to have Tony join our team and the potential he will bring our business,” says Bob Eichenberg, director of sales for The Andersons Professional Turf Business. “His diverse experience and knowledge will make him a valuable resource for our customers.”

Warner will manage the distribution of the business’ turf and ornamental products in the Southeast. Warner has more than 20 years of experience in professional turf management. He comes to The Andersons from GRIGG, a subsidiary of Brandt Consolidated, where he served as territory sales manager. Prior to GRIGG, he held manager positions with Milliken & Company and Golf Ventures, and previously served as maintenance director for several prestigious Florida golf courses.

Warner received his associate degree in turfgrass management from The Ohio State University, Wooster, Ohio. He received his bachelor’s in business finance from The University of Akron.

“We are very pleased to have Tyler join our team,” Eichenberg said. “His vast knowledge of premium fertility and control product solutions will make him a valuable resource for our customers.” Warner resides in Spencer, Tennessee, with his wife and three children.

Hollen will manage the distribution of the business’ turf and ornamental products in southeastern Indiana, central and southern Ohio, Kentucky, Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia and central and southern Virginia. A Pennsylvania native, Hollen received his certificate from the Penn State Turfgrass Management Program. He resides in Lebanon, Ohio, with his wife and two daughters.

“We are excited about the potential Alan brings to our business,” Eichenberg said. “His diverse experience and knowledge of how to use and recommend The Andersons’ products will make him a valuable resource for our customers.”

Works begins on new Clive Clarke-designed Scottish course

The new Dumbarnie Links course at Lower Largo on the south coast of Fife in Scotland – a little more than 10 miles from St Andrews – is now under construction, and EcoBunker's project team has moved onto site to begin the installation of its synthetic edging product in all of the course's formal bunkers.

The course has been designed by Clive Clark, formerly a Walker and Ryder Cup player, and a longtime BBC Television golf commentator, but now an established golf course architect based in the United States. The golf course is being built by American contractor Landscapes Unlimited.

Fife Council granted planning consent for the project in April 2018, and the construction team moved onto the site in May. Shaping of the golf holes and bunkers is already underway, and the EcoBunker team is gearing-up to finish constructing the bunkers.

Where bunkers are hard against greens, or surrounded by short grass, they will be fully revetted using EcoBunker's synthetic solution. However, where bunkers are positioned to be a transition between maintained grass and native rough, they will be constructed in a hybrid fashion, with elements of chunked, rough edge and also of revetment. Some of these natural bunkers will be quite large and are sure to be a dominant feature of this very special golf course.

EcoBunker global installation specialist Llewelyn Matthews – like architect Clark a former Walker Cup player – will lead a five-strong construction crew to build the bunkers. Matthews will be on site full time during construction, which is scheduled to last sixteen weeks and come to a conclusion in September. Project manager Paul Kimber and the team from Landscapes Unlimited will work closely with the team on the very important bunker construction.

“New links courses are extremely rare, and we are very proud and happy to be playing a major role in the construction of Dumbarnie, which promises to be an outstanding golf course that will attract play from all over the world,” EcoBunker inventor and CEO Richard Allen said. “This is one of our largest ever projects, and we are very pleased to be working so closely with Paul Kimber and the Landscapes Unlimited team to make Dumbarnie a true destination links.”

OPEI holds 66th annual meeting

The Outdoor Power Equipment Institute held its 66th annual meeting in Bonita Springs, Fla., recently, focusing on messages of innovation and industry advancement.

“Our Annual Meeting is the premier opportunity for members, suppliers, vendors, and financiers to engage in a relaxed atmosphere, discuss the most important issues facing the industry today, and to do some business,” said Kris Kiser, OPEI President and CEO. “With more than 100 members, we have record levels of membership and engagement, and the Annual Meeting is the place where they come together.”

Chief among industry updates heard at the meeting, the trade association introduced its new statistics vendor, Vault Consulting, which showcased updates to the members-only program’s capabilities and categories. OPEI staff also shared the latest forecast update for key categories of equipment.

John Dunlap, OPEI consultant and former chairman of the California Air Resources Board, outlined the potential market impact of new regulatory schemes in California on the outdoor power equipment industry in the state and nationwide.

Keynote addresses from futurist Vivek Wadwha and NASA Mars Rover team leader Adam Steltzner highlighted the power of technology, teams, innovation, and exploration to advance companies and civilization.

The Board also has appointed Earl Bennett, President, Husqvarna Professional Products, to the Board.“Earl Bennett is a longtime advocate for the outdoor power equipment industry, and we welcome his perspective on the OPEI Board of Directors,” Kiser said.